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 New York To New Jersey: A Fly Fishermans Commute
Posted by AvidDavid on March 01, 2006
It's over half way through February and I'm here on Long Island. Trout
fishing for most of the waters in New York ended in October and won't
begin again until April. Stripers are even off limits until April 15th.
But I can't get my mind off of fly fishing. Is this normal or am I
crazy?
Every day while I drive my morning one-hour-commute from Long Island to
New Jersey, every turn seems to remind me of fly fishing. I look to the
right while stopped as I wait to merge from the Long Island Expressway
onto the Cross Island Parkway. Just down the embankment on the right is
Alley Stream, New York City Trout Unlimited's latest project. They want
to bring the stream back from the jaws of urban expansion. Temperature
studies and water quality tests suggest that it could become the only
brook trout habitat inside New York City's Limits. Long Island prides
itself in its native (yet small) brook trout population. Creeping into
the city limits would be a great feat.
A few miles north, the Cross Island Parkway follows the Western shore of
Little Neck Bay for several miles. At first, the water lies behind a
fringe of tall (8 ft) grass. Half a mile further and the water’s in
direct view. Some days the tide is low and I can see the muddy bottom
scantily strewn with mussels. Up ahead, there's that rocky structured
bottom off the
point that juts out into the bay from the Army base.
Other days, the tide is high and I imagine that the water can be waded
quite far out. When it's windy, I wonder if I could cast more than a
Clouser's length. On calm days I look for birds or surface disturbances
as baitfish avoid their predators.
Then it's up onto the Throg's Neck Bridge crossing the West end of Long
Island Sound. From the bridge I can see quite far. To the left is the
skyline of Manhattan; but, I'm usually looking down for boats. I
remember, last fall, seeing boats out chasing stripers and blues in the
nearby waters. Up, up and over the sound and then down, down to the
terra firma of the Bronx. I ease through the toll booth and stay to the
left for the Cross Bronx Expressway. The Bronx, now that's a name seldom
associated with fly fishing.
Moments after leaving the toll booth, I often slow to a halt in traffic
as I cross over the Hutchinson River. Here in the Bronx, it seems quite
industrial; but, I know that upstream it becomes a scenic little stream,
buffered from its surrounding neighborhoods by woods. Even further
upstream it is followed by Interstate 684 that leads to the Croton
Watershed (trout fishery and New York City water supply). My mind
drifts, recalling a cold day two years ago in November when my eleven
year old son and I drove two hours to the East Croton River to wet some
nymphs. After hiking through some dense brush we finally reached the
ice-fringed tail waters. As we stepped into the water, my son filled one
of his hip waders. So we quickly exited the water, emptied the wader and
hiked back to the car. The wind was pretty cold so we drove home with
the car's heater blasting his wet sock and trousers (Dad got in about 5
casts, son got zero)
The Cross Bronx Expressway is renowned for its stop-and-go traffic
during rush hour. Sometimes, I practice my "air" double haul in the
driver's seat while stopped in traffic. I don't care what the other
commuters think. The slow-going typically lets up about half way through
the Bronx as I pass over the Bronx River. I have read that there are
trout in the Bronx River, roughly 10 miles upstream near White Plains.
A few miles further and I'm on the George Washington Bridge. I usually
take the lower level and look to the right (north) up the Hudson River
(Striper spawning ground, and the drainage for half of the trout stream
in New York State). I look over at the Palisades on the New Jersey side
of the river. A few months ago they wore a golden, auburn and rust
canopy; but, now there's only a meshwork of leafless branches, slightly
veiling the granite cliffs. Below the Palisades, I see a park with
access to the river. It looks like I could cast from some of the rocks
at the edge of the park. I might even be able to backcast without
hanging up in trees! Over the bridge, I'm now in New Jersey.
Down, down the descent on Interstate 95 from atop the Palisades-level
bridge exit to the marshland below. At the bottom of the hill is a
sweeping left turn to the South. Overpeck Park, with its tidal lake is
on the left. I remind myself that I need to try casting near that bridge
to Leonia.
Now I exit from Interstate 95 onto the Easternmost point of Interstate
80. Just after the merge, I pass over the Hackensack River. I know that
Oradell Reservoir is upstream and New York Harbor is downstream. If I
stay on Interstate 80, I can cruise over the Delaware River, through
Central Pennsylvania and its limestone creeks or patiently drive a few
days more to Wyoming and Utah.
Despite the attractive alternatives of continuing westward, I exit from
the Interstate onto the secondary road to work. My fantasy fades back
toward reality as I prepare my mind for the day's activities. But I know
that the next morning, I'll repeat the fantasy on my way to work. Am I
crazy? Or does this happen to every avid fly fisherman around this time
of year? Although reality doesn't include enough fishing, I'm really
lucky because the fantasy actually recurs daily, year-round, and keeps
me going on the morning commute.
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Re: New York To New Jersey: A Fly Fishermans Commute
by jeremy on March 01, 2006 http://www.ineedasimplesolution.com | AvidDavid,
Thank you for that post. I know that must have taken some time for you to write as it is very well thought out and very well written. I think you were able to tap into a dilema that most any free spirit can relate to. The constant inner struggle between the part of us that knows we must go through the daily motions and the daily grind and the other part of yearns for something bigger, something less constricting and something more pure. This struggle, in my opinion, is the very thing that breads creativity on and off the rivers. I am glad that Flies And Fins could be an off the water outlet for you to excercise your creativity as it relates to fly fishing. You stated in your 3rd sentence, "I can't get fly fishing off my mind." You asked in your 4th sentence, "Is this normal?"...... Rest assured you are amongst people who feel exactly as you do, face the same inner struggles and spend equal amounts of time on the water even when they are not "actually" on the water. Thank you for that post. I am sure many fly fishermen will comment on their ability to relate. |
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Re: New York To New Jersey: A Fly Fishermans Commute
by fishound on March 01, 2006 http://www.xanga.com/AK_81 | | At least the stripers are only a month or so away. I definitley feel the pain and angst of seeing the ocean every day on the way to school. I dream of the familar tug of a striper heading out of Boston Harbor through the commute in downtown Boston. My girlfriend says I have a terrible addiction lol. Cheer up, soon our rods will be bending and reels will be singing! |
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Re: New York To New Jersey: A Fly Fishermans Commute
by AvidDavid on March 02, 2006 | | Jeremy: What a great visual. Just what I was dreaming of! And B&W fits so well. You are very creative! Thanks for the help. |
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Re: New York To New Jersey: A Fly Fishermans Commute
by waterwhippa on March 02, 2006 http://salmonriverspecialists.com | | What an awesome read! You really captured the spirit of yearning to be "free" of the ties that bind us to the status quo. I am fortunate enough to get out on the water once a week and still do the same thing on my 5 minute commute to the office. I have also caught myself reading current seams in the storm water runoff, on the side of the filthy city streets as it heads for the storm drain. Deep down we all desire to be free spirits in one aspect or another. |
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Re: New York To New Jersey: A Fly Fishermans Commute
by bbhog on March 02, 2006 http://home.fuse.net/cbruce | That's a fine read! I think it's pretty normal to feel that way. Do you ever bass fish in Central Park? That's something I've wanted to try the few times I've made it up to NYC.
I can't imagine living in a place like that to be honest, it's a far cry from here. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed reading the fish tale and hearing about the fishing that close to NYC. |
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Re: New York To New Jersey: A Fly Fishermans Commute
by patm on March 02, 2006 | | I really enjoyed this article. Thank you for posting |
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Re: New York To New Jersey: A Fly Fishermans Commute
by ChrisR on March 02, 2006 | | Great post. I grew up just 40 miles north of NYC. Brookies in Manhattan though? I would have never thought that was possible. But then again some of the great brookies I have caught when I was a kid were in spots I also wouldn't expect to find them. |
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Re: New York To New Jersey: A Fly Fishermans Commute
by Shaq on March 03, 2006 http://www.theanglersnet.com | | When people ask me why I don't mind a 40 minute comute, I just tell them I pass 4 rivers...they just go all cross eyed and leave. It's great. Great story!!! Come up the Hudson in the summer and I'll meet you north of Albany and fish. |
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